Japan Recovering: Putting the ships back in the water after tsunami strike

More than a dozen ships heaved inland by the tsunami in March sit with red bellies and propellers exposed among the demolished houses of this once-bustling fishing town, a jarring daily reminder of the ocean’s awesome power.

The enormous task and cost of moving these out-of-place vessels — and the debris around them — has kept them stranded in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, for over three months. Many have been propped up with metal beams so they won’t topple over.

Determined to recover, the town has now begun the Herculean job of returning some of the beached ships to the sea. Several ship owners banded together to jointly negotiate costs with a logistics company to move five of the vessels in a deal that insurers have agreed to cover.